Night Time
by Fayth Grimmly
Summary: Natasha is prone to nightmares. Nightmares so agonizing she doesn't believe anyone could possibly help her. But Steve does. [Cover art by muuuving on Tumblr]
1. The Mission

**It's time for a new story! I know anyone that reads my other story "Anna's Life" may be mad at me for ehem… some… reasons. But I'm excited about this one! It isn't related to Anna's Life or Young Anna for anyone wondering. Now… Let's carry on with the prologue! :)**

* * *

"Captain Rogers, Director Fury has a mission for you." Maria Hill said, passing Steve in the hallway of the new Mark 3 Hellicarrier. SHIELD had been reformed almost 5 months previously; it was much much smaller now. Only those Fury _knew _he could trust. Unsurprisingly that list was pretty short, only "Level Seven" (Whoever the hell made up that team. It was completely classified to all but a few.), the Avengers and about 5 or 6 original SHIELD agents.

Steve sighed before sharply turning left and into the elevator. He looked around Director Fury's office; he immediately saw a familiar head of red hair.

"Natasha?" She turned towards him with that 'know-it-all' smirk of hers.

"Hey Steve." She walked towards him smiling. "Have you called that nurse yet?" She stopped in front of him, arms crossed. He chuckled, of course _that _would be the first thing she asks after being gone for almost 2 years.

"No… No I haven't."

"Still too busy?" Before Steve got the chance to answer her, the door opened and Director Fury entered carrying two black folders.

"Rogers, Romanov. I've got an assignment for you." He motioned them towards his desk.

"Nice seeing you too sir." Natasha murmured just quiet enough for Steve to hear, he smiled. The director handed them each a folder and cleared his throat.

"You two will be going undercover as an engaged couple vacationing in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In reality you'll be spending the next week tailing and eventually taking out Issak Vitomir. He's the leader of a growing anti-government organization. Word is they're planning on assassinating a few Russian officials within the next few months. I've got a man on the inside and according to him, you take out Vitomir, the regime will quickly scatter. Any questions? Good, your plane leaves in the morning. You are dismissed."

The spy and soldier turned to leave their room, taking the folders with them. Steve held the door open for Natasha. '_Always the gentleman.' _Natasha thought, rolling her eyes.

"And Agent Romanov," Fury said looking up. "Welcome back." Natasha smiled walking out the door; it was good to be back.

* * *

**PLEASE LEAVE ME REVIEWS! I love to know what you think :)**


	2. Saint Petersburg

**Can I just start of by saying HOOOOOOOLY CRAP. I posted the prologue expecting like 2 follows until I posted the next chapters than I'd hopefully get a few more. But NOPE. Thanks so much for the crazy support guys!**

**Aaaaaaaaanyways, onto something people might actually care about. The story!**

* * *

"Steve, Steve wake up we're almost there." Steve blinked quickly, unsure of his surroundings, it was pretty late at night. Then he remembered Natasha was driving their rental car on the way to the Helvetia Hotel in Saint Petersburg, Russia. "Remember, as soon as we get there its couple mode. We've done it before, just follow my lead and we should be fine."

Steve opened his black folder and looked through it, reviewing it one more time. He was Calvin Serna, the owner of a popular restaurant in New York. He was vacationing with his fiancée Valerie Durbin, an elementary school teacher. Steve laughed at the thought of Natasha trying to teach small children to read. _'I can see her lasting 3 days before she empty's her pistols into the chalkboard."_

Natasha parked the black rental car in front of the hotel and the two of them jumped out of the car. Natasha handed the keys to the valet and the two of them grabbed their small suitcases.

"The hotel looks nice." Steve said smiling wrapping his free arm around Natasha's shoulder. She laughed wrapping her arm around his waist.

"What? Did you doubt me?" She said laughing. He noticed it wasn't her normal laugh, it was to girly and bubbly. They quickly checked into their room.

"You can leave your bags here; someone will bring them up shortly." The receptionist said with a thick Russian accent. 'Valerie' smiled up at 'Calvin' as they stepped into the elevator. She quickly checked the elevator for cameras, seeing one in the corner. She turned to Steve. "Love you Cal." She said, letting him know about the cameras. He smiled semi-sheepishly. He'd have to get used to this kind of talk pretty fast.

The two walked out of the elevator holding hands. She bit down on her lip as they walked down towards the door. Steve grabbed the key out of his pocket and Natasha leaded lazily against the wall waiting for him to open the door. Her head shot up when she heard light footsteps coming towards them, there was a man walking towards them. He wasn't threatening, but he was watching them, he smiled at the couple.

Before Steve realized what was happening Natasha grabbed his face and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She giggled girlishly as he wrapped his other arm around her, opening the door. Natasha ran one hand up to the back of Steve's head, her fingers tangling in his hair. He half-carried her into the room with one arm and she slammed his back against the door, closing it. Natasha let go of him as soon as the door was closed. "Sorry." She said, slightly out of breath. "That guy was watching, we weren't exactly being 'coupley'." She laughed a little bit checking out the room. It was nice, a small table sat against the right wall, decorated with orange and blue flowers sitting in a vase. There were a couple couches in front of a TV next the large window and a large double bed sat against the left wall.

"No it's fine." Steve said as there was a knock on the door. A bellboy was waitng. He handed Steve the couple's bags and smiled at 'Mister Calvin's' generous tip.

"Just don't want you to be 'uncomfortable'" Natasha smirked after the bellhop had left.

Steve chuckled a little as he grabbed his shield and uniform out and hid it in the bottom of the closet underneath some towels; Natasha did the same with her catsuit and gun.

A few minutes later they were both changed into pajamas and in bed; Steve lay on his back and Natasha on her side to the left of him. There was only one bed and they were both too tired to care anyways. The only light showing was the city lights streaming in through the window.

"Steve?" Natasha asked, rolling over to face him.

"Hmm?" Steve looked over at her for a second before returning his eyes to the ceiling. She eyed him carefully before leaning on her elbow.

"I've got a question for you, and you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. But if you don't that's kind of like you're answering it anyway."

"Oh boy…"

"Was that your first kiss since DC?" Steve rolled his eyes before he turned his head to look at her, she had that smirk again. Steve smiled a little.

"That bad, huh?"

"No actually, a little better this time. So I'm wondering how much practice you've had."

"I'd say you don't need practice but I have a feeling everyone needs practice." Natasha laughed turning away from Steve. He could still hear here chuckling a little after she'd closed her eyes.

The soldier's eyes grew heavier, before long he was in a deep sleep.

* * *

The next two days went relatively well. The first day they walked around 'sightseeing', gathering Intel on Issak Vitomir. The second they spent the day going around to various clubs that Vitomir was said to frequent. Natasha tried desperately to not bust out laughing at Steve's failed attempts at dancing to modern music. Eventually the two just had to sit at the bar taking shots (The alchohol didn't affect Steve anyways. And for some reason that Steve couldn't figure out, Natasha didn't seem fazed either.)

Nights were pretty quiet; they often sat together by the window and talked, catching up on the last two years.

On the third day 'Calvin' treated 'Valerie' to a nice dinner… that just happened to be in the same restaurant Vitomir was eating at that evening… which they just happened to hear from one of the clubs the day before.

Natasha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear smiling Steve. "This is really nice Calvin." She said, taking his hand in hers from across the table.

"Now who's doubting who?" She laughed leaning towards him and whispered, "He's at the bar, grey suit."

"I see him." He whispered back. 'Valerie' leaned away a little bit, smiling slyly.

"Well I'll tell you what… I'm going to go get another drink, then… I say we head back to the hotel and… you know…"

"Way ahead of you." He smiled back at her biting his lip. Natasha strained not to roll her eyes when she saw Steve was trying not to blush.

Natasha stood up, walking quickly so her _very _high heels clicked loudly on the wooden floor. The man at the bar, Mr. Issak Vitomir himself, turned towards her. _'Perfect.' _

She ordered a drink and smiled seductively at Vitomir when he paid for the cocktail for her. "The blonde" He said in Russian, motioning towards 'Calvin' who was currently paying the couple's check. "Your boyfriend?"

"Dah." She answered back, her Russian sounding like she'd never stopped using it. "But nothing serious." She winked at him. Leaning towards the man she wrapped one hand behind his neck, the other found his hand, each finger had a ring. Vitomir smiled, running a hand through Natasha's hair.

"Valerie?" Steve tapped her shoulder and Natasha jumped back acting embarrassed. She downed her drink quickly and looped her arm around Steve's, making sure to wink at Vitomir one last time before the two left. Once back and their hotel and in the elevator Steve wrapped an around Natasha's waist, leaning down to kiss the top of her head "Did you plant the tracker?" He murmured into her hair. Natasha giggled like he'd said something he shouldn't've.

"Of course baby." She said back. She held her cell phone up for him to see. Natasha'd skillfully snuck a micro tracker to Viomir's rings back at the restaurant. He was currently still there, but a few moments later he walked out of the building and into a car.

"You never cease to amaze me Val." He kissed her temple again.

"Good to know." She laughed with what Steve had now mentally deemed, the 'Valerie Laugh.'

They got back at around midnight and decided to go straight to bed, exhausted from 3 days of constant work. It didn't take long for them to both be dead asleep.

* * *

Steve's eyes slowly fluttered open. Running a hand through his hair he silently yawned. It was still the middle of the night. He turned his head at the sound of… mumbling?

"Natasha? Are you awake?" She didn't respond. "Na-"

"Нет ... Нет ... нет нет нет уйти от меня…" Her face was contorted as she pulled on the sheets; She kicked at the blanket covering them as if they were strangling her. Natasha's breath was fast and uneven. He realized she's shaking, the Black Widow shaking like a scared child who'd just seen a ghost. Steve sat up, his face full of concern. He was sitting on his side to face her.

"Natasha wake up. Nat..."

"No no no… "

"Natasha, it's okay. You're safe, it's Steve. You're-" Her eyes shot open, she sat up quickly, panting. They sat in the darkness of the room for what felt like an eternity, the only sound coming from her heavy ragged breathing.

"Nat-"

"I'm _fine_ Steve." She said coldly, laying back down. "Just go back to sleep." Her voice quivered on the word sleep.

"Natasha…" She ignored him, her eyes squeezed shut. Steve sighed, laying back down as well.

"I'm fine. Alright?" She finally said. Steve wasn't sure she was really talking to _him. _"I'm okay…"

* * *

**Looooong(ish) chapter, I'm moving tomorrow so there may be a break in update for a little while (hopefully not to long! :) )**

**Thanks again for the HUGE support holy crap.**

**PLEASE LEAVE ME REVIEWS! I love to know what you think :)**


	3. A Familiar Face

Natasha woke up to the soft sound of breathing. She slowly opened her eyes to see Steve next to her, fast asleep. Natasha remembered the events of last night and quietly snuck into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. She scrubbed her skin until it turned red. The shower had always been somewhat of a safe zone for her, where no one would bother her. After Steve had seen her like that… she didn't want to be bothered.

She got out and quickly dressed herself in white skinny jeans and a flowing green top. She walked out of the bathroom, brushing her wet hair. Natasha stopped when she saw Steve completely ready, sitting by the window. He wore a large coat, covering the Captain America uniform he wore underneath.

"Ready to go?" She asked her voice void of all emotions. He turned towards her and stood up.

"Natasha-"

She ignored him. Pulling out her phone she checked the tracker on Issak Vitomir.

"He's in the warehouse district. Typical." She said annoyed (Steve didn't know if it was Vitomir or himself that were to blame for it).

"What's the plan?"

"I say we follow him and see if we can get a clear shot. If we can, we'll take him out." She said matter of factually. Natasha was known in SHIELD for finished missions and assignments well before the deadline. It was only 4 days into their week long assignment and she was already prepared to finish it.

The two quickly left the hotel, couple mode in full affect. Steve could tell Natasha was acting different than her normal 'Valerie'; he really didn't want her to be mad at him. He just wanted to help her.

They got their car from the valet and Steve decided to drive so Natasha could give him directions with the tracker. Once they'd been on the road for a while he cleared his throat.

"Natasha, about last night-"

"I don't want to talk about last… there's nothing to talk about."

"Listen, Natasha I get that we aren't the best of friends or anything. But that doesn't mean I can't worry about you."

"You don't have to worry about me; I'm not a child Rogers." He clenched his jaw.

"So now that I'm showing that I care about your wellbeing I'm 'Rogers' again?" Natasha was silent, pretending to be preoccupied by the tracker.

"…Why?" Natasha finally asked, staring straight ahead "Why do you care about my wellbeing?" Steve was quiet, taken back by her question.

"Because we're friends, at least that's what I consider us to be…" Natasha hesitated, thinking about what Steve had said. She eventually didn't respond and they spent the rest of the trip driving in silence. It was almost sundown by the time they arrived. They parked on top of a hill, just above a large warehouse building bellow. Natasha pulled out her binoculars and saw Vitomir talking to a large group of men.

"Let's go." She said, jumping out of the car. Steve took off his coat and watched Vitomir as Natasha changed into her catsuit around the corner.

"You ready?" She asked, walking back around the car. He nodded holding his shield tight.

* * *

The two slowly snuck down to warehouse, and before long had made their way into one of the buildings. Following the tracker Natasha located Vitomir to the east.

"He's up-" Before she realized what was happening, a large man grabbed her, throwing the spy through the 2nd story window.

She hit the ground with a hard t_hud _and looked up quickly, her head spinning. The man jumped down and stood in front of her, the disappearing sunset casing his face in shadow.

"I can't believe it." He spoke softly in Russian, his voice almost a whisper. "You've returned at last… Natalia Romanova." Natasha sprung up to her feet quickly, her heart beat thudding in her ears.

"Who are you?" She said fists at the ready.

"Do you not recognize me?" He grabbed her gruffly by the front of her catsuit; picking her up off the ground he slammed her back into the wall. She still couldn't see his face. But his eyes, wide with rage and insanity. She knew those eyes…

"…Alexi?" She squirmed, trying desperately to escape his grasp. He smiled, slamming her back into the wall repeatedly; she fell like a ragdoll once he let her go. The man laughed, looking down on her bruising body. Natasha swept her leg, knocking her attacker to the ground.

Before she could make another move a blur of red white and blue shot in front of her. Steve grabbed her hand, quickly helping her up. Alexi jumped to his feet and turned his focus towards Steve. Steve pushed Natasha out of the way as Alexi's leg swung into the air, landing a powerful roundhouse kick to Steve's jaw, sending the soldier into the dirt.

He coughed, holding his jaw. With blurry vison he watched Alexi rush at Natasha, who rolled out of the way just in time. Turning on her heel she jumped onto Alexi's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He chocked failing wildly, trying to throw her off of him. He grabbed a knife from his belt and with one quick motion; he dug it into Natasha's thigh.

"Nat!" Steve stumbled to his feet as Natasha released Alexi, clutching her bleeding leg. Steve charged at the man in a blind panic to help Natasha. He grabbed the man by the shirt, his other fist slamming into Alexi's chin.

Natasha crawled towards the building's cold brick wall as Steve and Alexi continued to fight. Alexi grabbed a thin wire like rope out of his pocket, and with lightning speed, wrapped it around Steve's neck. Steve chocked as the man tightened the rope. He fell to the ground, coughing.

Natasha clutched onto her thigh, her eyes widening in panic as Steve fell to the ground. She moved her hand from her bleeding leg and grabbed the knife's handle. With one fluid movement she ripped it from her leg, launching her body at the men. Tackling Alexi the knife went to his throat.

"Why are you working with Vitomir?" She yelled, trying to mask her pain with anger.

"Why are _you_ working with SHIELD Natalia?" He said, chuckling a little. She pressed the knife harder against his throat, barely light enough to not break the skin. "I moved on from the KGB…" He smiled at her, a twisted _evil_ smile. "Have you?"

Natasha gritted her teeth, digging the knife further into Alexi's neck. His blood ran down her hands, but she knew she wasn't pressing hard enough to kill him. He laughed in her face fueling her anger.

"Из рук в воздухе!" Natasha's vision blinded as bright headlights stopped in front of her. "Из рук в воздухе!" She squinted to see Vitomir and about 40 soldiers, weapons aimed straight at them. Vitomir squinted, looking straight at Natasha. "…You?"

"N- Natasha-" Her head whirled around to see Steve lying on the ground, blue in the face and pulling on the wire still wrapped around his neck. The soldier's guns aimed towards the super soldier chocking behind her.

"Steve!" Bullets rang out as she launched herself off of Alexi and towards Steve. They curled up into little balls as she grabbed his shield from his hand, using it to cover as much of them as she could. Her thigh ached,

"Прекратить огонь!" Vitomir yelled, holding his hand up. Staying behind the Shield Natasha turned slightly to face Steve. She quickly used the bloody knife to cut the wire around Steve's neck. He coughed, his face finally returning to a normal color.

"You okay?" He whispered through coughs. She ignored him, peering over the shield. Two soldiers grabbed Alexi's arms, dragging him back towards the cars. The soldiers loaded into their trucks and quickly drove away, taking Vitomir away with them.

* * *

Natasha and Steve were quiet on the drive home. Natasha kept her hand pressed down on her leg, staring out the window. He could tell she was deep in thought, and not particularly good ones.

It was almost 3 in the morning by the time they stumbled into the hotel room. Natasha leaned against Steve for support. Steve carefully helped her sit down on the edge of the bed, kneeling down to look at her leg. Pulling away the fabric he saw the wound was pretty clean cut. "It's not that bad, won't take that long to heal." Natasha nodded slowly.

Steve changed out of his dirty uniform and into some pajamas in the bathroom before sending off a quick report to Fury. Steve grabbed the first aid kit before he walked out into the room, one hand smoothing over the sore patch of skin around his neck from the Russian man's attack.

His stomach dropped when he saw Natasha leaning against the bed's headboard. She had changed into some pajama shorts and one of Steve's t-shirts. She held a towel against her leg.

"Hope you don't mind." She said, glancing up at him. She motioned towards the t-shirt.

"Oh no, It's no problem." He said shaking his head. He offered her a smile before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Opening the first aid kit he carefully cleaned Natasha's wound, wrapping it up snuggly. They were both silent, the only sound coming from the rain dripping against the window.

"The man back at the warehouse. You knew hi-"

"Yes." She said grimly. She took a deep breath and Steve sat up, expecting her to say something. Finally open up. But she just hung her head down. Steve looked down before walking back around the bed, lying down beside her. She turned to her side, winching as her leg pressed down against the mattress.

"You okay-"

"Yes." She answered quickly. Natasha squeezed her eyes closed, trying desperately to fall asleep. To skip until the next day.

* * *

Steve sat up quickly at the sound of screaming. He quickly reached for his shield before realizing there was no immediate danger in the room. His second reaction was to turn towards the redhead asleep beside him. His heart dropped.

She was drenched in sweat, her face contorted into an expression of terror. She pulled at the sheets like they were strangling her.

"Нет, нет, нет! Стоп ... пожалуйста Alexi! Кто! Помогите! A-"

"Natasha, it's okay…" Steve whispered, laying hand on her shoulder. She kicked at him, pushing his hand off of her. Another scream escaped the back of her throat.

"Natasha wake up!" Steve shook her shoulders quickly. "Natasha!" Her eyes flew open as she bolted upright. He watched her for a moment; her eyes were glassy, void of emotion. "Natasha?"

His words seemed to breathe life into her. She sighed leaning back, slamming her back into the headboard. She hung her head, her red hair curtaining her face.

"Natasha… it's okay. You're okay…" He said, slowly placing a hand on her shoulder. She sighed at his touch. He scooted towards her, sitting beside her with his back leaning against the headboard.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, knowing her answer. '_I'm fine Rogers.' _Her voice echoed in his mind. She over at him. He couldn't see much in the darkness, but he swore his eyes played tricks on him when the bottoms of her eyes glistened, as if brimming with tears.

She slowly nodded. Steve's eyes widened when a stifled sob escaped her lips. "N- no."

Steve quickly wrapped his arm around Natasha, pulling her into his chest. He expected her to push him away, but she wrapped on arm around herself, the other found his chest grabbing onto his t-shirt. He held her as she cried. He could tell she was trying to stop herself, but she couldn't.

"Shhhh. It's okay Nat… It's okay." They sat like this for what felt like hours before Natasha pushed herself off of Steve slightly. She wiped her eyes curling into a little ball, her forehead resting against her knees.

Steve sat there, dumbfounded at what just happened. He'd never seen Natasha even _close _to as broken as he'd just seen her.

After what felt like an eternity, Natasha laid back down slowly. Steve did the same, staring up at the ceiling. "You can talk to me you know… if you want-" He was cut off by the sound of moving bed sheets. Natasha rolled around to face Steve. She slowly and almost nervously laid her head on his chest, looping her arms around his waist. Steve stiffened.

"Natasha?"

"Just… shut up and hold me okay?" She whispered her voice wavering. Natasha felt unsure of herself, but she knew what she wanted. Comfort.

Steve wrapped one arm around her back, laying his hand loosely on her waist. His other hand lying across her arms over his stomach.

"Goodnight Natasha." He whispered, holding her gently. She was quiet listening to his racing heartbeat, starting to slow.

"Goodnight Steve." She whispered back. '_Thank you'_

* * *

**Please leave me reviews! I love to hear what you guys think :)**


	4. Natasha Opens Up

Natasha stirred a little, immediately feeling an arm around her waist. Opening her eyes slightly she looked up a little. Steve was fast asleep. She shifted, her head still resting on his chest. After a few minutes she slowly slipped out of his hold. Her injured leg lit up with pain and she limped to the bathroom. After cleaning replacing the bandages on her leg, Natasha washed her face with cold water, waking herself up a little bit more. She thought about the sleeping man in the next room.

"What've you gotten yourself into Romanoff?" She said, shaking her head. Walking back into the main room she knelt down next to the bed. "Steve." She whispered "Steve wake up."

The soldier stirred, before his eyes fluttered open. "Nat?" He asked sleepily.

"G'morning sunshine." She smirked, standing up. Steve reached over and turned his cellphone on, checking the time.

"It's 3 in the afternoon." He said, raising his eyebrows. "I haven't slept this late since… ever actually." Natasha laughed and made a joke about his age Steve didn't quite catch. He couldn't help but notice her limping. "How's your leg?" He asked, sliding out of bed.

"Oh just peachy…" Natasha said sarcastically, turning on the room's electronic kettle. Steve decided not to bring up the events of the previous night. He'd let Natasha talk about it if she wanted to.

Natasha made two cups of insta-coffee and handed one to Steve. They sipped, both making scrunched faces in disgust.

"This may be… the worst cup of coffee I've ever had." Steve chuckled

"Yep." Natasha said spitting her sip back into the cup. She took the cups, dumping them both in the bathroom sink. "I vote we get dressed and go find some real coffee."

Steve had just finished changing into a brown t-shirt and khaki pants as Natasha walked out of the bathroom, make-up done and donning and white sundress. "I think I saw a Starbucks around the corner." She said grabbing her bag.

"What's a Star… bucks?" Steve questioned. Natasha's jaw dropped

"You've been out of the ice for over 5 years now and you still haven't had Starbucks?" Steve shrugged.

"It's on my list forever but-"

"Shut up. We're getting you coffee. Now."

* * *

They walked back to the hotel together, each holding a nice warm coffee. "So? First impressions?" Natasha asked eagerly. Steve took another sip.

"It's alright." He said shrugging. Natasha rolled her eyes. She grabbed his hand as they walked into the hotel lobby, reminding him of their covers. "Jesus Calvin, I can't believe we got coffee at 5 in the afternoon." She said, laughing in that bubbly way again.

When they got back to the room Steve took another sip of coffee before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Natasha was stepping out of her shoes when he grabbed his phone. Unlocking it he saw an email from Fury. He frowned.

"What's wrong?" Steve looked up at the redhead.

"Fury…" He said, glancing back at the email. "He's pulled us off the mission."

"What?" Natasha put her coffee down and quickly sat down next to him on the bed, snatching the phone from his hands. "Compromised? What the hell does he mean the mission's compromised?"

"Vitomir… he's seen our faces. Knows we're after him." Steve said quietly. Natasha continued to read the email angrily.

"He's sending Morse and Barton instead?" Natasha said furiously, slamming Steve's phone down on the mattress "We had him… We had him, it's _not_ our fault he saw us. It's… his…" She stopped, swallowing hard.

Steve took a deep breath; he'd never failed a mission before. He glanced over at Natasha. She had her head down, digging her finger nails into her legs.

"Nat..." He said, breaking the silence. She remained unmoving. "Who's Alexi?" She held her breath, eyes held wide.

"Alexi… is none of your business." She mumbled, still looking at her lap. Steve grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"It is my business when a mission is compromised because of him! Who is he?" Natasha pushed his hand away, but still looked at him. She scowled.

"Alexi Shostakov… is the most coldblooded, vengeful man I have ever met." She scoffed. "And I'm an assassin."

"He's from your past?" It was more a statement than a question.

"He is my past… Believe it or not Rogers, I'm a married woman." Steve raised an eyebrow. "Well, was anyway." She sighed. "Alexi and I had what most would call a… complex relationship. We were set up by the KGB, told we couldn't love anyone but each other. I don't think either of us even understood what love meant back then." She paused, her stare moved back down to her lap. "But then I met Ja-… someone else." She paused for a while, closing her eyes. "Things… happened. Alexi was furious and swore I would 'regret my actions'… Later the KGB told me he was dead, shot down in a plane…"

Natasha ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath. Steve knew she was done talking for a while. They sat in silence for a while. He wondered what had happened to the other man she'd met. The one who's name started with a J. "We should go to bed early. Fury said the jet'll be at the airport at six." He said quietly.

Natasha nodded and stood up slowly, grabbing a tank top and pajama shorts out of her bag. Steve watched her disappear into the bathroom before changing into sweats and an old t-shirt. He laid down under the covers, staring up at the ceiling. Natasha emerged a few minutes later and turned off the lights. Sliding into bed she laid on her back, her arms crossed tightly.

After a few minutes of dark silence Steve closed his eyes slowly. He opened one eye when he felt a soft weight press onto his chest. Natasha was curled up close to him, wrapping one arm around herself the other resting on his chest. He smiled sadly, glad the dark room kept her from seeing it. Steve gingerly wrapped his arms around her; relaxing when he felt her smile a little against his chest as her eyes closed. Natasha yawned softly, and not long after they were both sound asleep.

* * *

Natasha's eyes shot open, a coarse scream escaping past her lips. Her first instinct was to thrash up, but a pair of strong arms held her down.

"Natasha…" A voice said softly. "Hey, Nat it's okay. You're alright." Natasha stared at the man, her eyes wide in fear. Her expression softened in recognition when she realized it was only Steve.

The soldier held her close, rubbing one hand up and down her back, the other tucking some hair out of her face. He offered her a reassuring smile and she relaxed a little bit. She laid her head back onto his chest, she was shaking visibly. They laid there together, she listened to the sound of his steady breathing as he absent mindedly twirled a strand of her curly hair in between his fingers.

"Do you wanna talk?" He asked finally. She shook her head softly. He smiled a little before wrapping his arms around her again, holding her close until she fell asleep.

* * *

The alarm buzzed in Steve's ear, each time it went off was like a nail being driven into his skull. Natasha's face went from one of relaxed slumber to annoyed confusion. Steve chuckled as she squinted one eye open, glaring at the clock on the side table.

"Turn it off." She mumbled "_Now_." Steve slammed his hand down onto the clock, silencing it. Natasha relaxed; returning to her comfortable position snuggled up to Steve. The two laid there sleepily for a few minutes before the alarm returned to its incessant honking. "I thought I told you to turn the damn thing off!" Natasha grumbled against his t-shirt.

"I did!" Steve looked over at the clock confused. "Ow!" Steve exclaimed as Natasha crawled over his body. She leaned, one knee on the mattress, the other pressing down on Steve's chest and grabbed the alarm clock irritably.

"There's a difference between turning it off and hitting the snooze Rogers." She griped. Steve chuckled as she unplugged the clock quickly. She balled up the cord and raised the clock high above her head.

"Natasha don't!" Before he could grab her arm she threw the contraption across the room, it shattered against the wall. "Nat…"

"It was annoying me." She said nonchalantly. She crawled back to her previous position and sighed. "What time is it?"

"I don't know." Steve said looking down at her. "You _broke _the _clock._" She rolled her eyes before sliding out of bed, gathering her things around the room.

"We need to get going anyway. Don't want Fury even more pissed at us." She sighed after the last part before going into the bathroom to shower and change. Once she was done Steve did the same and they walked out of the room as Calvin and Valerie.

"I thought you were staying until Thursday?" The receptionist asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… I uh… we-" Steve stammered.

"There was a family emergency. As much as we'd love to stay we absolutely must get home." 'Valerie' jumped in, saving him.

"Ah, I understand." The receptionist nodded, waving the valet to bring their car around "Family comes first." Steve nodded, wrapping his arm around Natasha they walked out of the hotel, loading their bags into the car they drove off towards the rising sun.

* * *

**So this chapter felt kind of awkard when I wrote it. Hope you guys like it **

**What will happen to their relationship once back in the good-ol US of A? ;)**

**I tried to mix Marvel's storyline of Natasha and Alexi's relationship with a few ideas of my own; I hope it made some kind of sense.**

**PLEASE leave me reviews! I love to know what you guys think :)**


	5. The Team Reunites

**Thanks to Soul Neko-Natsu, KariSeddieMore, sailorraven34, Ealasaid Una for your reveiws! Keep em coming!**

* * *

"Well if it isn't Ms. Natasha Romanoff!" Tony smiled as Steve and Natasha walked into Stark Tower.

"Hope you didn't miss me too much." Natasha responded looking around. "Wow, Stark Tower sure does look different."

"That's because it's not Stark Tower anymore." Tony said, leading them towards the elevator. Natasha shot a confused glance to Steve.

"Don't ask me." The soldier responded.

"JARVIS, take us up to the common room if you please." The AI complied and the elevator started its ascent.

"Common room?" Steve raised an eyebrow. The elevator dinged opened and the trio walked into a large living room like room; complete with a huge half-circle shaped couch spanning most of the room, a full bar and huge flat screen tv.

"Welcome to Avenger's Tower." Tony said, sitting down on the large couch. He crossed his legs, looking at them smugly.

"_Avenger's _Tower?" They asked, looking around.

"It was technically Fury's idea. You're stuff's upstairs."

"Wait. We're supposed to _live _here?" Steve crossed his arms.

"I was wondering why Nick sent us over…" Natasha said frowning.

"Everybody's got their own floors, fully furnished and decked out." Tony said standing back up. "Just go on into the elevator, tell JARVIS which floor you want and bingo, you're there." They stood in silencing. "Well? Go on."

The spy and soldier walked back into the elevator. "Ummm. JARVIS. Take me to my floor… Please." Steve said.

"So. I guess we're neighbors now Rogers." Natasha said, leaning back against the elevator wall.

"I guess so." The elevator doors dinged open to revile a short hallway with a door on the end. It was labeled 'Steve Rogers.' They stepped in through the door, their eyes wide in awe. His apartment was perfect for him in every way. It was decorated simply, without too much glitz and glamour. His furniture was already set up, along with some brand new stuff as well. His 'vintage' record player stood against the wall, the records organized exactly the way they were in his old apartment.

"It's nice." Natasha said, looking around in amazement.

After a little while of checking out Steve's apartment they went to Natasha's apartment. It too was perfect for her. Dark wood floors, high ceilings and a crystal chandelier that screamed Black Widow. But it also held the comforts of Natasha, a large snuggly blanket lying on top of the dark couch, an old painting from Russia, a large dvd collection of Natasha's favorite movies and some knickknacks from Natasha's various international missions (Some of which stolen from the enemies themselves.)

Steve jumped as Tony's voice echoed over the intercom. "Spangles, Red, get your SHIELD asses down to the common room." Natasha rolled her eyes and followed Steve into the elevator.

"Excuse me." JARVIS' voice echoed in the common room. "Sir wishes I inform the both of you of the tower's security features."

"Go ahead JARVIS." Natasha answered, sitting down on the large couch.

"By simple request all security footage taken in your rooms can be set to record or not record in any scenario. For instance, Sir wishes his room does not record at night because he doesn't want anyone to know he talks in his sleep." Natasha and Steve laughed.

"JARVIS YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL ANYONE THAT." Tony yelled, walking into the room. Bruce followed behind him, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Doctor Banner." Natasha greeted the man smiling.

"How are you Ms. Romanoff?"

"I'm good thank you. And please call me Natasha."

"Only if you call me Bruce." He responded, sitting down on the couch.

"Hey Tasha." The group turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Natasha stood quickly, glaring at the man.

"CLINT. BARTON." She stalked towards him, glowering. "_Where _have you been?"

"What?" Clint said shocked, he crossed his arms raising an angry eyebrow at Natasha. "Not exactly the welcome I expected."

"SHILED went down and you were nowhere to be seen!"

Steve didn't quite catch the rest of the ex-partners' argument. He awkwardly sat down next to Bruce. "So do you and Clint live here too?" He said over the spies' yelling.

"We all do. Thor's got a floor but he isn't here all that often."

"Thankfully." Tony collapsed down on the couch. "He always ends up eating all the food."

* * *

The next week or so went by peacefully. Steve and Natasha both got the chance to check out the Tower's many floors, including the gym, the medical room and Tony and Bruce's extensive laboratory.

Neither of them talked about anything to do with the Saint Petersburg mission, not even after Clint left to finish the job. Steve thought about Natasha at night, he wondered if she was having nightmares almost every night.

One night, the two week mark after they'd gotten back, he found himself unable to sleep. He didn't know if it was the thunderstorm outside, or just plain old insomnia but he ended up lying in bed until almost 3 in the morning. He jumped at the sound of his phone buzzing; alerting him he'd received a text message.

"Better not be Fury." He murmured, rolling over to grab his phone.

_"You awake?" _It was Natasha.

_"Yeah. What're you doing up?" _He quickly responded.

_"Can't sleep." _

_"Me neither. Is the storm keeping you up?"_

_"No." _Steve raised an eyebrow.

_"What is it?" _She didn't respond for a few minutes. He frowned sadly at her response.

_"Nightmares." _She _was _still having them.

_"You okay?" _Another long pause. Almost ten minutes had passed by the time she texted back.

_"No." _

Steve didn't know what to do, but suddenly he was getting out of bed. And suddenly he was at Natasha's door.

"Natasha?" He knocked quietly.

"It's open." A muffled voice called back. He opened the door, stepping inside. Looking around he walked around Natasha's apartment, calling her name quietly. He peaked into her bedroom "Hey Nat."

She sat up in bed, her knees curled up to her chests. Her cellphone lay broken at his feet, thrown at the wall in frustration.

"Hey yourself." She said quietly. He noticed she was shaking a little. They stood in silence until slowly Natasha straightened up. "Get your super soldier ass over here." Steve chuckled softly and made his way to the other side of the bed. He lay down, leaning back against the headboard. She did the same.

"What was the… dream about?" Steve asked finally.

"Oh you know rainbows and kittens." She said sarcastically. "…I was back on the Helicarrier." Steve raised an eyebrow; he glanced towards her for a moment before returning his gaze to the ceiling. "Back when Loki…." Steve took a deep breath. The Avengers didn't usually talk about anything related to the Battle of New York. They all had bad memories about it and it was a particularly sensitive topic for Thor.

"What happened?" Steve said, breaking the silence.

"When Barton and the rest of Loki's lackeys almost brought the ship down. When Doctor Banner lost control. I- I got trapped with him when he…" She sighed, shaking her head. "It… He was chasing me and I couldn't get away. I couldn't…" Her voice shook and she hung her head.

"Hey, it's okay." Steve wrapped an arm around her. "You know you don't have to be ashamed about your nightmares you know." Natasha huffed, shaking her head.

"You know I'm not one for heart to heart Steve."

"Yeah, I know." They were quiet, listening to the rain pattering against the large window.

"Lay on your side." She ordered.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you want me to say please?" She mocked. Steve rolled his eyes a little, smiling. The joking Natasha he was used to was back. Steve did as he was told, pulling the covers over the both of them. Natasha leaned over and turned the lamp off.

Steve expected Natasha to turn to face him, but was surprised when she laid facing away from him. She pushed herself back before settling, her back pressed against his chest. Steve smiled a little, wrapping his arm around her lightly. Natasha's head rested just underneath his chin, her curls tickling him a little.

"G'night Nat." Steve whispered after a minute or so. Steve raised an eyebrow when she didn't answer. "You okay?" After another moment of silence he shifted a little, craning his neck to see her face. He rolled his eyes when she saw she was already fast asleep.

* * *

**PLEASE leave me reviews! I love to know what you guys think :)**


	6. An Arrangement

**Thanks to hanzz, KariSeddieMore, sailorraven34, puion, Soul Neko-Natsu for your reviews! Keep em coming!  
Next chapter should be up soon! :)**

* * *

Steve rolled over, yawning. It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't in his own bed. Opening his eyes he quickly recognized it as Natasha's bedroom. But where was Natasha?

Lazily rolling out of bed he poked his head out of her bedroom door, careful in case one of the other Avengers was in the apartment.

"Morning." Steve turned to see Natasha standing in the kitchen, holding two large cups of coffee. "It's no Starbucks but I think it'll do." She smirked, handing him the cup.

"Thanks." They stood there drinking the coffee for a while.

"…Steve. About last-" She paused at the sound of the "Archer" theme song blaring. Natasha sighed before turning and grabbing her cellphone (The screen was shattered from her throwing it the night before). She answered yawning, acting as though she'd just woken up. "What do you want Barton? Do you know what time it is?" She paused, listening to what the archer had to say. "Alright I'll be down in 10 minutes…" She hung up turning to face Steve. "Apparently Clint, Bruce and Tony made breakfast. They want me to go 'wake you up' and meet them in the common room." Steve nodded and the two made their way into the elevator. Steve turned to her raising an eyebrow.

"They can cook?"

"Most likely… no."

* * *

The breakfast actually ended up being pretty good. Bruce and Pepper were the ones who actually cooked, the other two just set the table and made coffee.

"Wow Bruce, this is pretty damn good." Clint said, taking another bite of his pancakes.

"Nice to know you doubted me." Bruce joked, taking a sip of his juice.

"You know what? I say we make this a thing." Tony declared, gesturing towards his plate of food.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Stark, but pancakes have been a thing for quite a while." Natasha said, pouring cream into her coffee.

"Not pancakes, breakfast. That's it. Daily Avengers breakfasts are now instated."

"Yeah… no." Bruce shook his head, not enjoying the idea of waking up early every day to cook for the team. "How about weekly?"

"Tri-weekly?" Tony suggested

"I'll meet you in the middle." Steve said, clearing his throat. "Biweekly. Let's say… Sundays and Fridays. Anyone who's in the tower comes down and helps make breakfast."

"Sounds good to me." Natasha said nodding. Clint, Pepper and Bruce did the same.

"Fine." Tony frowned, obviously enjoying the idea of pancakes every morning.

* * *

That night Steve laid in bed reading. He wasn't even surprised when his phone buzzed at midnight with a text from Natasha.

'_Can you come over?'_

_'I'll be there in ten minutes.'_

Weeks passed this way. They would both go to bed in their respective bedrooms, and halfway through the night Steve received a frantic text message or phone call from Natasha. This happened a couple times a week but Steve didn't mind. He'd even started to enjoy being with Natasha. They never talked about their arrangement, or the nightmares, not during the day at least.

* * *

Natasha quickly realized she couldn't move. Her hands and legs were bound onto the cold metal table by leather that burned her skin when she tried to struggle. ' _Poisoned…' _She realized.

"Oh good you're awake." A man dressed in all white looked down on her, smiling cruelly. He spoke only Russian and his face was shrouded by shadows. "I want you to be awake for this Natalia." She stiffened, how did he know her name?

"How-" The man grabbed her jaw, forcing it closed. Another man (Also dressed in white) tightened her binds before putting a gag in her mouth.

"No too tight." The first man told the second. "I want to hear her scream." She struggled against the bindings as the man held up a needle. The liquid inside was jet back. Her breathing grew heavier and she pulled against the bindings with all her strength, her arms and legs burned as if they were on fire. One man grabbed her head with his left hand, holding it in place. His other held firmly down on her leg, his hand lingering far too high up for comfort. He noticed her discomfort and chuckled darkly.

The man with the needle brought it up to her face and she tensed before he stabbed it into the skin at the bottom of her neck. For a moment she felt nothing. Everything felt numb, until the chemicals in the needle kicked in. then everything burned.

The black liquid burned through every muscle, bit down on the gag trying to keep from screaming. Each muscle in her body felt as though it was being ripped apart, cell by cell.

The man glared down at her. "I said I want you to scream." Within seconds he grabbed a knife off the table and sliced it deep into her leg, blood poured out of it. Tears blurred in her eyes but she blinked them away. Still unsatisfied the man grabbed the needle, injecting the last few drops into the open cut. She screamed out in pain, arching her back against the bindings. Her leg burned like millions of hot needles were being jabbed into it, one by one.

The man in white chuckled. "It will all be worth it in the end my sweet Natalia. We're going to make you big and strong." She turned her head to face him, her face contorted in pain and confusion. It all felt so… familiar. "Just take a look."

Natasha squinted as he flicked on a bright white light. As her eyes adjusted she saw a mirror hung on the ceiling above her. Her eyes caught her throbbing leg, and the blood spewing out of it. But she quickly looked back to her pain filled eyes, the tears freely streaming down the side of her face.

But it wasn't her face, it was a 12 year old girl…

"You're going to be our weapon Natalia." The man looked down on her before stabbing another needle into her leg. She screamed, her voice raw. Without pausing for a second the two doctors injected her with more chemicals and fluids than she could count. Her pain was replaced with dizziness and nausea, and she began to hallucinate. She imagined someone… hugging her. And rocking her back and forth. The evil man looked down on her once again. "Natalia…" He said with an evil smirk. "Na-tasha!" She stared up in confusion as his voice changed from one of sadistic evil, to panicked yelling. The arms she'd imagined were hugging her started to shake her lightly as the man continued saying her name. "Natasha!" His face softened, and the dark brown eyes faded into a familiar bright blue. "Natasha it's okay, you're okay…"

Everything went dark and Natasha sprung forward, clamoring off the metal table and onto the floor. She opened her eyes and realized she'd launched herself off of a bed. A figure rushed to her side and she instinctively grabbed the concealed knife she somehow knew was underneath the mattress. Steve barely had enough time to see the knife shining in the moonlight, and ducked as she swung at him.

"Nat, it's me! It's Steve!" He stood back up, his hands raised in surrender. He searched her face for any sign of recognition, but saw only fear and panic. She stood, her knife pointed towards him. Her breathing was ragged and uneven. "You're safe. I promise." Steve slowly and carefully reached forward taking the knife from her hands, never losing eye contact with her. Still staring into her eyes he placed the knife onto the floor, kicking it across the room.

They were in his bedroom that night, he wondered why (And more importantly, _when_) she'd hidden the knife. "It's only me." Her face softened slightly and he stepped forward wrapping his arms around her. She sighed against his chest and wrapped her arms around Steve's waist. Steve rested his chin on top of her head, holding her close. After a few moments he tried to pull away from her, but she tightened her hold on him, burying her face in his chest. It only took a few seconds for Steve to realize she was crying.

"It was… them again." She said weakly. Steve sighed, stepping backwards and sitting down on the edge of the bed. Natasha sat in his lap, curled against his chest.

"Shhh. It's okay." He carefully lifted her up and scooted back to lean against the headboard. "It's alright. They're gone…" They both knew there was no way she was getting to sleep now. So he rocked her slowly, whispering comforting words until morning came.

* * *

A week later Steve and Clint were sent on a mission in Brazil that lasted 4 and half days, they arrived back at the tower ready to get some well-deserved rest. Which they couldn't do for long.

Natasha rested her head on Steve's chest, listening to his heartbeat. He'd arrived from Brazil around noon earlier that day and as soon as the sun set they just went upstairs together and both went to bed in Steve's room, Natasha joked about most likely ending up their anyway.

No one on the team suspected anything, they never did. The spy and soldier even asked JARVIS to not film security tapes when one of them was in the other's apartment.

She traced her fingers tips softly along the image on his t-shirt, it was a black and white version of the old Howling Commandoes symbol (A gift from Coulson for Steve's 97th birthday a few months before).

Steve had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other bent upwards, his hand tangled in her hair. His fingers absent mindedly played with her curly red locks, a habit he hadn't realized he'd started doing (And one that Natasha secretly enjoyed.)

They both stiffened when Steve's phone buzzed on Natasha's side table. Natasha slipped out of his hold as he sat up picking up the phone.

Natasha watched him as he talked to whoever'd called him at 2 in the morning. She knew it had to be Fury.

"Yes Sir." Steve hung up, and quickly turned to Natasha. "They're calling us in. All of us." Natasha's eyebrows furrowed and they quickly jumped out of bed, hurrying towards the front door.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked as they headed down the stairs towards the tower's Armory floor.

"Something's attacking Boston, there's a helicopter waiting on the roof."

"By something do you mean alien?"

"Sounds like it."

"Great…"

* * *

The fight was brutal. By the end of it Thor ended up with some 3rd degree burns, Natasha had a concussion and both Clint and Tony walked away with broken bones. But Steve didn't walk away at all.

It felt like hours until the SHIELD evac-team arrived. Bruce kept making sure Steve was still breathing every minute.

He'd jumped in front of a grenade's blast to shield Natasha from the blow.

_"Rogers?" She called, looking around the crumbling building. "Rogers, where are you?". She heard a painful groan and rushed towards a pile of rubble, pushing pieces of stone wall away. "Steve!"_

_He lay on the ground like a ragdoll, crimson seeping through his uniform from his chest and arms like water seeps through tissue paper. _

That was one week ago... Steve suffered internal bleeding, broken bones, 3rd degree burns and lacerations to his face, chest and arms. The serum helped him to start healing rather quickly, but the doctors didn't know when going to wake up.

His heart stopped three times on the way back to the Tower…

While Steve slept for that week, Natasha didn't. She was plagued by horrid nightmares about the unconscious man in the medical bay downstairs. The accident, his blood dripping on her hands, his possible death…

The worst part was that he wasn't there to comfort her when she woke up screaming his name.

* * *

**So I feel like A LOT happened in this chapter, sorry about that I guess :P**

**PLEASE leave me reviews! I LOVE to know what you guys think :)**


	7. Natasha Snaps

**Thanks to KariSeddieMore, Ealasaid Una, Soul Neko-Natsu, zackhalifa420, lithriel23, sailorraven34, hanzz, carolzocas, independentalto and alphaminkus for your reviews! Keep em coming!**

* * *

At first, all he saw was a flash of white, and the irritating sound of beeping. His vision was blurry but he could see enough to make out shapes. He saw a figure standing next to the bed, wearing a white doctor's coat.

"-waking up." The figure in white said. A second figure sitting in a chair at the end of the bed caught his attention. The figure was smaller than the other one, and dressed in almost all black, dark red curls on the top of their head.

"Nnntash…" Steve mumbled, trying to sit up.

"Woah woah woah." The doctor placed his hands on Steve's shoulders, lightly pushing him back onto the bed. "Captain Rogers slow down. You're still healing."

"What happ…" Steve tried to sit up again, stopped by a stabbing pain in his chest. "Is Natashhh-"

"Steve you need to relax." A familiar voice soothed his worried thoughts. The woman to whom the voice belonged stood up, taking gentle hold of his hand. The doctor checked Steve's vitals.

"I'll alert Director Fury that the Captain's awake." And with that, the doctor left Steve and Natasha alone in the hospital room.

"You've been unconscious for 2 weeks." She said finally. Steve raised his eyebrows before sighing, focusing his gaze back on Natasha. She watched him carefully, her eyes never leaving his.

"Sleeping Beauty finally rises!" Clint called as he, Tony and Bruce walked into the room. Natasha dropped Steve's hand quickly, stepping away.

"How're you feeling Capsicle?" Tony asked, sitting down in the chair Natasha'd been sitting in.

"Sore." Steve groaned making Natasha chuckled just quiet enough for only him to hear.

"Well the doctor said you'll be well enough to be up and moving in a week." Clint said, leaning back against the wall.

"You're lucky Steve, a blast like that would've killed any of us." Bruce said, checking over Steve's vital signs.

"Lucky? More like genetically enhanced to the point of cheating death." Tony chuckled, earning cold glares from his teammates. "But sure, lucky works too."

* * *

That night Steve was alone in his hospital room. Someone had left his sketchbook on the side table, so he decided to start drawing as a way to pass the time. He sketched the Nurse that brought him food, one of the many pots of 'Get well soon' flowers people had left him, and even a quick self-portrait sketch. After a while he got bored with the self-portrait and moved on to drawing something else. Someone else.

He drew Natasha, not in her widow suit, or one of the man glamourous gowns she'd worn to events and whilst on missions. He drew her sitting up in bed, rubbing one of her eyes with her fist as if she'd just woken up. Her usually perfect curls messy and tangled from a night's sleep. She was make-up free and she was practically being swallowed by the baggy pajamas she was wearing. He smirked, knowing she'd kill him if anyone found the drawing (Or knew that that's how he remembered her best.)

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Steve jumped as saw Director Nick Fury standing in the doorway. Quickly closing his sketchbook Steve tossed it back on the table.

"Director Fury."

"How're you feeling?" The director asked, sitting down in the chair Natasha'd previously occupied.

"Like someone hit me with a truck." Steve admitted honestly.

"Makes sense. A grenade'll do that to a man."

"With all due respect Sir, it's pretty late for a friendly visit."

"That's because this isn't a friendly visit. This is business." Steve sat up a little.

"What kind of business."

"The Avengers. These past few weeks've been pretty hard on them. Pretty hard on all of SHIELD really." Fury paused, taking a deep breath. "They wouldn't leave the tower, unless it was to come see you. They were real worried Captain."

"Why are you telling me this?" Steve asked, shaking his head.

"Just expect a little… Backlash from a few of them. They seemed pretty angry you got hurt." And with that the Director wished Steve a goodnight and left the hospital room.

Steve knew what he meant. He wasn't talking about 'a few of them' being angry with Steve. He was talking about one Spy in particular.

* * *

A week and a half later Steve was on his feet again. He was still healing, but his full recovery looked very promising. The doctor ordered him to get at least an hour of mild exercise a day. His favorite form of said exercise was a nice walk around the lake next to the hospital. It was woodsy, quiet and peaceful.

The other Avengers tended to accompany him on his walks. First it was Bruce; they talked about the birds and trees surrounding the lake. The following day Thor walked with him, he smiled brightly as the Asguardian told stories of his adventures throughout the Nine Realms. Tony and Clint both went with him next day. They got Steve all caught up on all the gossip he'd missed (Something he hadn't asked for, but got an earful of anyways).

* * *

Steve kindly thanked the nurse who'd brought him lunch, a bowl of warm soup along with a sandwich.

"My pleasure Captain Rogers." She smiled. She was an elderly woman, very sweet and grandmother-like. No one from the team had visited him that day (Something that hadn't yet happened in the 2 weeks since he'd woken up.) so once he was done eating he relaxed back in his hospital bed, knowing the hospital would never let him go walking alone. He was about to ask the Nurse if she'd accompany him but she was quickly rushed out of the room to help someone in the ER. He'd almost given up hope of any kind of walk when a soft knock at the door made him smile.

"Sorry I'm late." Natasha smirked.

"They're releasing you tomorrow." Natasha said, picking a yellow flower on the side of the path.

"So I hear." He watched her twirl the flower in between her fingers as they walked. "How've you been?"

"Fine thanks to you." They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes. Until he noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

"You haven't been sleeping. Have you?" Steve finally. She sighed, tossing the flower into the lake.

"No, no I haven't. Also thanks to you." Steve was quiet, watching Natasha carefully. He noticed she wasn't walking with her usual confident stride. Nor was she maintaining her poised expression she always wore. She looked so… _exhausted_. She stopped walking, as did he. She quickly turned towards him, glaring. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Do _what_?"

"Jump in front of that grenade. Why?" Steve stared at her, shocked.

"So that you wouldn't get-"

"Hurt? You know what, believe it or not Rogers I can take care of myself." She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"Where the hell is _this _coming from?"

"I've had two long weeks to think." They stared at each other in silence, fuming.

"I don't understand. Why are you mad at me?"

"Because I don't need you to help me! I can take care of myself!" She yelled, inches from his face.

"When I jumped in front of that grenade you weren't even looking at it, so excuse me for saving your-"

"I don't need it saved! Especially not by you. I don't need your help! Nor do I want it!" She

"Really? You don't need anything from me? I seem to recall someone telling me they couldn't sleep without-"

"Shut up-" She said angrily. "Just. Shut up." Steve scoffed

"You'd rather be blown to bits against the wall than alive."

"Shut. Up."

"Why are you so damn angry?! I _saved_ your _life_ Natasha."

"By risking yours!" She screamed, angry tears burning her eyes. She wouldn't let them fall. "You almost _died_! You're heart stopped 3 times, did they tell you that? This team has been a mess these past two weeks. We need you! …I… need you. So don't you _ever _think my life is worth more than yours! Because it's not! Do you understand me?"

Steve stared at the woman in shock.

"Natasha-"

"Just forget it. Do whatever the hell you want." And with that she stormed down the path. And Steve didn't follow her.

* * *

**PLEASE leave me reviews! I LOVE to know what you guys think! :)**

**Next chapter will be up soon!**


	8. Clint Thinks He's Clever

_"Don't you ever think my life is worth more than yours! Because it's not!" _ Her voice echoed in his mind.

"How could she think that?" He murmured, wondering into his hospital room. He wasn't surprised when Natasha wasn't there.

"How could who think what?" Steve's nurse asked sweetly, smoothing out his recently made bed.

"What? Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself…"

"Did you go on a walk unaccompanied?" She asked, noticing he was alone.

"Oh… Yeah, yeah I did." He mumbled, not wanting to get Natasha in trouble for leaving him on the trail.

"You know that's against the rules Captain Rogers." The nurse crossed her arms as Steve laid down in the hospital bed.

"I'm really sorry M'am." He said apologetically. The nurse shook her head and smiled.

"I think I'll let this one slide." She whispered, holding a finger to her lips. Steve chuckled.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Teeeeeeen-Hut!" Steve's instinctively woke up, sitting up quickly. His eyebrows furrowed to see Clint standing in the hospital room doorway. "Wow that _does _work on you. Do they like brainwash you army guys into waking up whenever someone does that?"

"What do you want Barton?" Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm here to take your ass back to the tower." He smiled. Steve noticed a rather dark bruise over Clint's right eye.

"What happened to your-"

"Don't worry about it." Clint said before tossing the captain a small SHIELD duffle bag. "Get dressed. You and I are gonna have a little chat."

* * *

Steve watched out the passenger side window of Clint's SUV as they drove away from the hospital. "So, you and Natasha had a fight?" Clint asked suddenly

"What?" Steve turned to look at the archer, who kept his gaze on the road.

"She came back from visiting you yesterday and dragged me to the gym to spar with her. That's how I got this." He said motioning towards his eye. "She's been pretty pissed off ever since yesterday. She even yelled at Bruce." Steve raised an eyebrow, knowing Natasha knew better than to engage Bruce in an argument.

"How do you know it's about me?" He asked, even though he knew it was.

"She said something while we were sparring. Something about you being 'too dense to listen to her.'" Steve was quiet, thinking about what Clint said.

"I-"

"Look Steve, Natasha's like a sister to me, I don't like seeing her upset. Now I know what's going on between the two of you is your business-"

"-There's nothing going on between Nat and I." Steve said. The archer looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright. There's nothing going on. But still, you might think about talking to her when we get back before she beats Tony to a pulp."

"I'll talk to her."

"Good." They drove on in silence for a few minutes. "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"You're _sure_ there's nothing going on between you and Natasha?"

"100%." Steve said honestly. He knew he and Natasha were just friends. (The idea of being something more hadn't even crossed either of their minds.)

"Okay…" Clint chuckled

"What?"

"It's just that… In the almost 10 years I've known her, she's never let _anyone_ else call her Nat."

* * *

He found her sitting on the roof, her feet dangling over the edge. She was reading a book Steve had recommended to her a few weeks previously.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, sitting beside her.

"It's a little slow for my taste. But okay." She said, marking her page before closing the book.

"We need to talk."

"You don't say." Natasha said as she stood up, walking away from the edge. Steve stood up as well, crossing his arms.

"Natasha, why did you say my life is more important than yours?" She was silent. "Natasha?"

"Because it is-"

"Why? Why do you think that?"

"Because you're Steven Grant Rogers, Captain America. And I'm Natalia Alianovna Romanova, a Russian spy who was lucky enough to be spared by SHIELD agent."

"Nat. I know you. And I know for damn sure that you don't think that-"

"How do you know? How do you know what I think-"

"Stop lying to me." He said sternly, his face inches from hers. "Why did you say my life was more important-"

"Because I can't stand the thought of you dying for me!" She yelled. "I don't know what I would do with myself if you were dead and it was my fault! I haven't _slept_ more than an hour a night these past few weeks. You know why? Because I'm so full of damn guilt! I know it should've been me in that hospital bed! Not you!"

"You wouldn't've _been_ in that hospital bed! You'd have been six feet in the ground!"

"And you wouldn't've been hurt!" She screamed. Turning away from him she looked down at her feet, sighing. They stood in complete silence for what felt like hours.

"Natasha… I know you expect me to apologize-"

"You're damn right I do-"

"But I'm not going to. Nat, I will never apologize for saving your life. Natasha, look at me." He gently turned her around. She still stared at her shoes. "I'm fine now. I'm not hurt anymore, I promise. Sure I'll get hurt again, and so will you. It's kind of in our job description." She chucked softly, making him smile. "Let's just. Move on okay?" Natasha looked up at him, before stepping forward, pulling him into a hug.

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

The next morning Natasha woke up smiling. It was the first full night's sleep she'd gotten in weeks. She smiled even more when she heard Steve's faint breathing beside her.

Natasha squinted one eye open, grabbing at her phone on the nightstand. She groaned when she saw the date. It was a Sunday.

She grabbed a pillow and sat up on her knees, smiling evilly as she raised the pillow high above her head. She swung it straight at Steve's face. His hands flashed up, grabbing her wrists.

"Don't even think about it." He opened his eyes and she smiled more before dropping the pillow in surrender.

"I've got bad news." She said as he sat up slowly. "It's a Sunday."

"Breakfast…"

"Yep."

"Can't we just stay here and pretend to be sick?" He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Tony'd just come in looking for us. Wouldn't want him finding us in the same bed. People might talk." She smirked before sliding out of bed. "Besides, it was your idea."

* * *

"Steve seriously, sit down." Bruce watched Steve continue to mix the pancake batter. They were in Tony's apartment (Where most of the Bi-weekly breakfasts took place).

"I'm fine Bruce, honestly." Steve said adding a bit more flour to the batter. "Look-" He lifted his t-shirt up to show his stomach. The only trace he'd been injured was a few faint pink lines where his stitches had been. "-I'm fine, see?" Bruce sighed as Steve picked up the bowl again and went back to mixing.

"Coming through." Natasha ducked underneath Steve's arms, trying not to spill the very full bowl of freshly cut berries.

"Those look great Tasha." Clint reached his hand out to grab one, only to have his hand be swatted away.

"Patience Barton." Clint frowned, scrunching up his nose the way a toddler might. Natasha rolled her eyes. She put the bowl on the counter as Steve poured some batter onto the hot frying pan. The smell wafted in the air, making Tony and Thor's stomachs growl.

"Is there any way I can be of assistance?" Thor said.

"Yeah me too." Tony nodded; hoping to try and steal one of the berries without Natasha wasn't looking.

"You and Tony can go set the table." Natasha said, already knowing what the god and billionaire were up to. They sighed and carried the plates and forks into the dining room. "How's the toast coming along Clint?"

"Good. I think." The archer said, leaning against the counter. "Although, I don't know _how_ one messes up _toast." _They jumped at the sound of breaking glass coming from the dining room.

"Thor did it!" Tony called quickly.

"I did not! How dare you insult the son of Odin?!"

"Bruce, can you take care of that?" Steve asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. Bruce sighed.

"I swear. They're like children…" He muttered, walking out of the room, Clint following behind him. Steve added a freshly cooked pancake onto the stack, his eyes caught on the large plump blackberry being held out to him. Natasha raised a finger to her lips and he chuckled, popping the berry into his mouth.

"It's weird. I used to be deathly allergic to these things, a lot of things actually…"

"Well it's good you're not allergic anymore. I really don't feel like accompanying you to another hospital." Natasha chuckled, pushing herself up to sit on the counter. Steve chuckled, leaning back against the counter across from her.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked as she handed him another berry.

"Pretty well, no nightmares so that's a plus. What about you?" That took Steve by surprise. Natasha rarely asked him how he slept.

"Good you know. As always." He said, his voice trailing off a bit. Natasha watched his body language, she knew something was off.

"Steve, are you ok-"

"Is something burning in there?" Bruce's voice called from the other room. Suddenly Clint came running into the rom

"Oh shit the toast!"

* * *

All six of them hung out in the common room for the rest of day. Bruce decided it was high time Steve and Thor saw the Lord of the Rings movies, so the team marathoned the whole series (Including the Hobbit movies). After that Clint and Thor went out and picked up enough pizzas to feed a small village and the Avengers all sat on the common room floor, telling story after story late into the night. After they'd all had a couple beers, Tony decided it was time for a little game.

"Alright Birdbrain, truth or dare?" The archer thought on it for a moment, pondering what Tony had in mind.

"Truth."

"Okay… What's your most embarrassing injury?" Clint raised his eyebrows as Natasha laughed loudly. He blushed, recalling the same injury she was.

"Pass." He said, taking a bite of his pepperoni pizza.

"Oh come on Barton, it's hilarious." Natasha continued to laugh, adding to Clint's embarrassment.

"Well… You've probably head Tasha and I mention Budapest a few times." The Avengers nodded. The ex-partners had so many different stories from that mission it didn't seem like it could've possibly happened all within one assignment. "So one night we were making our way back to the safe house and a team of hostiles we'd been stalking jumped us in a an alley."

"And?" Bruce asked eagerly.

"And I got shot. The end." He said quickly.

"You fail to mention _where _you got shot." Natasha said, elbowing him lightly.

"That's not important." He said quickly, shooting a glare her way.

"I'd say it is-"

"Natasha-"

"Especially when I ended up sitting in a dark hotel room with floss and some tweezers, trying to dig a bullet out of your _ass_."

"I _hate_ you." Clint grumbled as the team erupted in laughter.

"_Please _tell me there's a scar." Tony said through laughs

"Oh there's a scar." Natasha smirked, taking a swig of her beer.

"Alright alright alright enough about scars on my ass! Romanoff it's time for a little revenge. Truth or Dare?"

"I'm gonna go with… Truth."

"Okay…" He shot a quick glance to Steve before smirking a little and turning back to Natasha. "Are you dating anyone right now?"

"What?" She asked, clearly surprised. The archer looked back at Steve, who frowned. "No, I'm not dating anyone."

"Is that so?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "You're not sleeping with anyone? No Friends-With-Benefits?"

"No." Natasha said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you so interested in my love life Barton?"

"No reason..." Clint said quickly

* * *

A few rounds later it was Tony's turn for dares.

"Natashalie." He smiled "Truth or Dare?"

"Why not? I'm going for a dare."

"Alright, I dare you… To sit in our good Captain's lap for the next… 25 minutes." He smirked. Natasha rolled her eyes as she sat down on Steve's lap, her legs crossed to the side. She leaned slightly against his chest. The team expected to see him blush profusely, but saw nothing.

"Really Spangles? No lecture about how this is inappropriate behavior?" Tony said, finishing off his beer. Steve shrugged, raising an eyebrow. Clint watched the two of them carefully.

"Alright." Natasha looked around the room, trying to pin-point her target. "Bruce." The scientist sighed.

"Dare I guess…"

* * *

"That. Was. Horrible." Bruce said, rushing back inside.

"Come one. You were only on the balcony for 10 minutes." Tony said rolling his eyes.

"Shirtless. In the middle of the night. In November. It''s freezing out there!" Bruce sat down, pulling his shirt back on. After a few minutes of warming up he was ready to pick the next person. "Tony, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to stand against the wall and let Clint and Natasha throw knives at you."

"What?! Are you insane?"

"We won't hit you Stark." Natasha said standing up off Steve's lap. She smiled evilly. "I promise."

"Pass. Pass pass pass."

"Hey, if I couldn't pass the ass scar story, you can't pass this." Clint said, standing up. Tony uneasily stood against the wall.

"Bruce man, what kind of a friend are you?"

"The kind of friend who's fed up with you not cleaning up after yourself in the lab. Maybe this'll teach you a lesson."

"Don't flinch. We don't wanna hit you by accident."

"You know even have knives!" The billionaire wined.

'_Knife supply ready Sir.' _JARVIS' voice echoed over the intercom as a tray of knifes came out of a panel in the wall.

"Whose side are you on?!" Tony yelled as the assassins gathered their knives. Each knife landed perfectly, exactly one quarter inch from Tony's skin. Natasha threw a knife in between his legs, barely missing.

"Oops." She smiled darkly. Tony slowly down on the floor, shaking like a wet dog. "I'm going to kill you both." He opened another beer and quickly chugged half of it.

Natasha's 25 minute dare wasn't done yet, so after throwing the knives at Tony she returned to her spot on Steve's lap. A couple of rounds later it was Natasha's turn again. "Stark. Truth or Dare?"

"I just went! Remember? _Knives_?!"

"And I don't care, it's time for a little 'revenge' of my own, Truth or Dare?"

"I choose… dare." He said nervously

"Alright… I dare you…" She paused, unsure of what to make him do. Steve leaned forward a bit, whispering an idea. She smiled darkly, making Tony very uneasy. "I dare you to let us 'redecorate' your iron man suit."

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

"I'll go get the paints." Steve said sliding Natasha off his lap and hurrying towards the elevator.

"I hate all of you."

* * *

30 minutes later Natasha looked her and Steve's masterpiece up and down. She nodded her head, smiling.

"I say it's a vast improvement." Steve chuckled, wiping some paint off his hands. Tony stood in the center of the room, wearing the newly made over Ironman suit. It was decorated with pink and purple flowers, stars, and glitter paints. 'Romanoff Rules' was painted over the face-plate as was an American flag. Natasha even superglued a tiara to the helmet.

"You guys suck!" Tony stepped out of the suit, cringing when he saw the final outcome. He walked around, pausing when he got to the back.

"Iron-ass, really?" He said, pointing towards what Steve'd painted on the butt. The team's laughter grew. "I'm going to bed…"

"I think I'm gonna turn in too." Clint yawned, it was almost 2 in the morning. The rest of the team followed him into the elevator, leaving Steve and Natasha alone in the common room.

"Let's get this place cleaned up before Pepper has an aneurysm." Steve said, picking up a few of the empty pizza boxes. Natasha nodded and helped him clean up all of the beer bottles and boxes, but not before taking a few pictures of Tony's suit.

Natasha yawned as she checked to make sure all of the garbage was thrown away. "I think that's the last of it."

"Good. Come on, let's get some sleep."

They went back to Natasha's floor; one of his t-shirts and sweats she'd stolen from his room was there for him to change into.

"Exactly how many articles of my clothing do you have?" He asked, chuckling.

"Only those sweats and a few t-shirts." She called from the bathroom before starting to brush her teeth. He rolled his eyes before sliding into bed sighing. He knew this wasn't normal, two friends sleeping in the same bed every night, one of them constantly stealing the other's clothes and knowing they wouldn't mind. But for some reason it just felt normal, domestic even. He was pulled out of his thoughts as Natasha slid into bed, facing away from him. He turned on his side, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. "You okay?"

"What? Yeah. "

"Alright…" She laughed a little.

"What?"

"'Iron-ass'" She mumbled. They laughed before closing their eyes slowly.

"G'night Steve."

"'Night Nat."

* * *

Clint laid in bed, twirling an arrow in between his fingers. "They stopped being mad at each other remarkably fast…" He mumbled.

'_Did you need something Agent Barton?" _JARVIS' voice echoed.

"Just talking to myself JARVIS." Clint said. "There's something going on between those two. They've gotta be dating or something, I just know it. JARVIS, where is Natasha right now?"

"_That information has been classified."_

"Uh huh… And where's Steve?"

"_Also classified." _ Clint sat up smugly.

"I knew it."

* * *

**So it appears Clint thinks he's pretty clever. _Now_ all he needs is proof.**

* * *

**PLEASE leave me reviews! I LOVE to know what you guys think! :)**


	9. Steve Has a Secret

**Thanks to independentalto, Qweb, KariSeddieMore, salierraven34, BloodyCrowns and emaline914 for your reviews! Keep em coming!**

* * *

Steve woke up later than usual the next morning. "What time is it?" He asked his eyes still closed "Nat?" Opening his eyes he was greeted by an empty bed. A small note was taped to the lamp.

_'Gym. Join me if you want to get your ass kicked.' _

* * *

Steve walked onto the gym floor about 10 minutes later. Dressed in a white t-shirt and some work out pants he looked around the tower's massive gym. Clint was at his archery range; there was music blaring loudly in his earbuds, preventing him from noticing the Captain's arrival. He walked further into the gym until his attention is caught by a familiar head of red hair.

Natasha landed another perfect kick to the training dummy's side. She straightened up, wiping a bit of sweat off of her forehead. She was dressed in tight black exercise pants and a turquoise tank top, her short curls held back by a turquoise headband.

She regained her fighter's stance before twisting into a whirlwind kick, knocking the head clean off of the dummy.

"Remind me not to piss you off." Steve joked, walked up behind her. Natasha turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"Sleeping beauty's finally awake." Natasha smirked, crossing her arms. "Did you _want _to get your ass kicked?"

"Who says _you're_ kicking _my_ ass?"

"Is that a challenge Rogers?"

* * *

Clint turned from the target to see Steve and Natasha talking over by the training dummies. Natasha smirked as Steve raised a cocky eyebrow. Clint watched them walk across the gym, climbing into the large boxing ring. The archer chuckled as the two began sparing.

Natasha swung her leg quickly, Steve ducked just in time. He swept his leg and Natasha jumped, rolling out of the way of his attack. They were in perfect synchrony. He swung, she ducked. She kicked, he blocked. They anticipated the other's move _perfectly_.

Steve swung his leg, knocking Natasha to the ground. She landed flat on her back. Sitting up a bit she saw Steve holding a hand out to her. "Who's kicking whose ass?" He smirked. Natasha rolled her eyes as she took Steve's hand.

"First rule of sparing Rogers, don't let your guard down." She kicked his leg and pulled his arm at the same time, causing Steve to fall forward. He landed flat on his face and before he knew it Natasha had her knee against his back, her arms holding him down on the floor. She leaned forward, grinning darkly "Just as I thought. I kick your ass every time."

Steve chuckled. "Second rule of sparing Romanoff, don't get cocky." With lightning speed he freed his arm from Natasha's grip and launched himself backward, pushing her with him.

Natasha's back slammed into the boxing ring floor, her eyes wide with surprise. She moved to jump up but Steve quickly rolled over, grabbing both of her wrists and pinning the spy between his knees. "Okay Rogers…" Natasha rolled her eyes, her breath heavy from getting the wind knocked out of her. "You win." Steve smiled. "This time."

They watched each other in a comfortable silence for a moment before Steve realized their… position. He blushed slightly before standing up and helping Natasha to her feet.

"Twenty bucks green machine." Steve and Natasha turned to see Tony, Bruce, Clint and Pepper watching them. Tony held his hand out as Bruce sighed, handing the billionaire a 20 dollar bill.

"Were you guys betting who would win?" Steve asked, grabbing his water bottle.

"Maybe." Bruce smiled sheepishly. Pepper glanced at the clock and her jaw dropped in shock.

"You two have been sparing for over an hour and a half! How are you not exhausted?" Pepper asked, shaking her head.

"Super-soldier stamina Pep. Nothing like it." Tony joked.

"I bet that Stamina comes in handy huh Cap?" Clint smiled as Steve and Natasha walked past him. He followed them into the elevator.

"…Yeah, I guess." Steve answered curiously. Clint shot a knowing glance between Steve and Natasha, confusing them both. "I mean I can fight for a long time without getting-"

"And you know. Other stuff." Clint watched the pair, waiting for a response.

"Barton what are you on about?" Natasha crossed her arms curiously. Clint stared at Steve and Natasha for a moment before sighing in defeat.

"Nothing." Steve and Natasha got off on the next floor but Clint stayed in the elevator. "I'll get them to admit it eventually…"

* * *

It was late at night. Natasha's eyes shot open, but she knew she hadn't been dreaming. She squinted, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness of the room. She stiffened when she felt a _very_ strong grip held tightly around her waist.

"Ow." Natasha said quietly, she couldn't breathe. She tried moving but the grip grew tighter, crushing her. She turned her head, trying to get a glimpse of the man holding her. "Steve what the hell-" Steve's eyebrows were furrowed and his breath was heavy. Sweat beaded on his forehead as his breathing grew faster.

"Nn… no…" A look pf realization crossed Natasha's face and she fought Steve's hold, quickly turning to face him.

"Steve, wake up." He released her, rolling onto his back.

"Buck… Don't…" Steve mumbled. Natasha sat up on her knees, carefully laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Steve, wake up. It's okay, Steve it's okay." She whispered, repeating the words he'd said to her so many times. She laid a hand on his cheek, her thumb moving back and forth.

"No. No No!" His murmurs grew into panicked yelling.

"Steve you need to wake up now, it's just a dream. Steve wake-" A firm hand grabbed her wrist from his cheek, crushing it. He bolted up right, breathing heavily. "…Steve?"

He blinked a few times and turned to look at her. "…Natasha."

"Steve… my wrist." His eyes widened and he released her quickly, pushing himself back against the headboard. Natasha held her wrist with her other hand, massaging it gently.

"...I hurt you." He said finally, his voice dripping in self-loathing.

"Steve, I'm fine." She said seriously. With shaking hands he reached over to the bedside lamp, switching it on. His eyes locked on her wrist. It was bruising already and had started to swell. "It doesn't hurt that bad... It's alright." She reassured him. He closed his eyes, hanging his head forward. Natasha moved to sit beside him, leaning back against the headboard. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"You have them too?" She said finally.

"…Sometimes."

"How often?" She asked firmly. He sighed.

"…Couple times a week maybe." His voice shook. She sighed, shaking her head. "They're never… Never that bad though-"

"-Why didn't you tell me?" She asked quickly, turning to face him.

"I don't know…"

"I told you everything." She said. "I told you _everything _and you didn't tell me you have nightmares too?" He could tell she was hurt. Really hurt.

"Did you _honestly_ think I had good dreams Natasha?" He snapped

"Well I wouldn't've known now would I?" She said angrily. It was dead quiet for what felt like hours.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you okay?" He murmured finally.

"Thank you." She glanced over at him, his face glistened in the moonlight and she realized he'd been crying. She reached up, cupping his cheek in her hand. "Steve…"

He shifted, laying back down on his back. She laid her head on his chest, her non-injured hand resting on his chest.

"I'm sorry…"

"Shhh. It's okay." She whispered. "Just go back to sleep."


	10. Coffee and Casts

**Thanks to independentalto, sailorraven34, Sandrine and Elimy' for your reviews! Keep em coming!**

* * *

Natasha waited until Steve had fallen back asleep before sliding out of his hold as slowly and quietly as possible. She winced and looked down at her wrist. It was black and blue and swollen to hell. She checked the time; it was only 5 in the morning. After quickly getting changed she hurried out of her apartment and into the medical bay.

She struggled to wrap the bandage around her wrist. "Damn it."

"Need some help?" A voice in the doorway said. She whirled around to see Bruce standing in the doorway.

"Oh. Uh, sure. I think it's just sprained or something." She lied. Natasha sat down on the edge of the medical bed. Bruce walked towards her, gently holding her wrist. "What're you doing up so early?"

"Decided to come down here and get some work done." He moved her hand around a bit, causing her to wince in pain. He took a quick breath between his teeth. "This looks worse than sprained Natasha." He said curiously. "Mind if I take a quick x-ray?"

"Sure…" Natasha said cautiously. Bruce grabbed a small handheld screen from one of the tables. He held it up to her arm.

"Tony and I invented it. Handheld x-rays are much easier than the big machines." He explained, motioning towards the device. Within 30 seconds an image of her arm flashed on screen. A clear line down the bone. "Yep, it's fractured. What'd you do it anyway?"

"I dropped a weight on it in the gym this morning." She lied again; thankfully Bruce seemed to believe her.

"Well. I'm gonna put a cast on it and you should be good to go."

"Thanks Bruce."

"Don't mention it." He came back with the supplies for the cast and took one more look at her wrist. "Huh."

"What?"

"The bruising, it looks kind of like a handprint." He raised an eyebrow.

"Weird." Natasha said quietly. Bruce watched her for a second before turning back to her wrist.

* * *

"And voila. You're done." Bruce said, stepping away to put away his tools. Natasha looked down at the blue cast around her wrist and hand, her fingers stuck out like thin little sausages of the end with a small hole for her thumb. She sighed, not wanting to think about Steve's reaction to the cast. "So Tony installed a big fancy coffee machine in the common room last week that's yet to be used." Bruce said, opening the medical room's door. "I vote we go grab some." Natasha smiled, happy that Bruce was dropping the broken wrist topic all together.

"Coffee sounds great."

* * *

Bruce and Natasha sat in the common room together as the sun rose, Bruce drinking decaf with 2 sugars and Natasha drinking a chai latte.

Slowly as night became day the Avengers started making their way into the common room. Clint was first, emerging half asleep. He made himself a batch of black coffee.

"Umm Clint, that's not a mug." Bruce raised an eyebrow as Clint slowly shuffled back into the elevator, carrying the glass pot of coffee with him.

"Yeah yeah yeah." Clint murmured, taking a sip straight out of the pot. Natasha rolled her eyes.

"He does that." She said taking a sip of her latte. She laid her broken wrist in her lap, covering it with a blanket. Thor came up next. He could only say hello quickly before heading back to Asguard. Unsurprisingly Tony was still fast asleep.

"So Bruce, have you got a lucky lady out there?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. Bruce chuckled nervously.

"Any 'lady' that'd be with me wouldn't exactly be lucky."

"That's not true; you're a really good guy Bruce." Natasha reassured him. "Hell, you fixed my arm up at 6 am no questions asked!" Natasha joked.

"I meant… The Other Guy." Bruce said uneasily. Natasha shifted slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Unknown to Bruce 'The Other Guy' was a sensitive topic to Natasha. She was utterly terrified after he attacked her on the Hellicarrier 4 years ago. "I did have a girl at one point."

"You 'had a girl'? Wow Bruce you're sounding like Steve." Natasha chuckled, quickly frowning a bit when she remembered her wrist. Bruce laughed a bit, shrugging.

"Her name was Betty Ross... She was a genius. Beautiful. Most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She got me in ways no one else ever has."

"What ever happened to her?" Natasha asked, sipping her coffee. Bruce was quiet .

"We were dating back when… the accident." Bruce said mournfully. "I couldn't control the other guy as well back then and… I ended things. I didn't want her to get hurt." He pulled out his phone, showing her the lock-screen photo. It was of a slightly younger Bruce and a beautiful girl with long black hair.

"Do you still have contact with her?" Natasha asked, staring at the photo.

"Yeah. But I haven't spoken to her in-"

"Call her."

"What?" Bruce asked, his eyes wide in shock.

"Call the girl."

"Natasha, it's too dangerous. _I'm _too dangerous-"

"Not anymore. You said it yourself Bruce, you can control it better now. Call. The. Girl."

"Come on Bruce, call her." The two turned to see Steve standing in the doorway, still dressed in his pajamas and smiling.

"You know what. I think I will. Excuse me." Bruce went into his phone contacts, quickly walking into the hall. "…Betty?" He said hesitantly.

"Are you playing his match-maker now too?" Steve raised an eyebrow, sitting down beside her.

"I guess I am." Natasha smiled. The stared at each other for a few moments before Natasha looked away, glancing back out the window.

"Your wrist..." He said, staring down at the blanket covering her cast.

"What? It's fine Steve-"

"You're hiding it." Natasha shifted uncomfortably, pulling the blanket up even more.

"No I'm not." Natasha said, trying to mask her nerves. Steve took a deep breath.

"How bad is it?" He asked quietly. Natasha bit down on her lip.

"It really doesn't hurt that badly." She slowly moved the blanket, lifting her arm. The sunrise seemed to make the dark blue cast glow. Steve stared at it, his eyes wide.

"Natasha-"

"Steve, I'm not angry with you. It's alright. It was an accident." The soldier was quiet, keeping his eyes blued to the cast.

"What happened to your arm Red?" Steve and Natasha jumped at the sound of Tony walking into the common room.

"Dropped a weight on it." Natasha said nonchalantly.

"That sucks. Hey Rogers, I need your muscles for something in the lab." Tony said, stepping into the elevator. Steve looked at Natasha.

"Go." She whispered. Steve looked down before silently joining Tony in the elevator.

* * *

Natasha was put on medical leave from missions until her wrist healed, for which she was grateful. She really didn't like being kept from missions for very long, but a paid vacation was always appreciated.

"Hey Nat. I'm making lunch for everybody today" Pepper announced as she walked into the common room around noon. Tony and Bruce trailed behind her, each carrying full grocery bags.

"Pepper, why'd you drag us shopping with you?" Tony asked, dropping the heavy bags onto the coffee table. He laid down on the floor, sprawling out like a starfish.

"_Again_?" Bruce complained something rather uncharacteristic of him.

"Stop complaining or I'll spit in your food." Pepper smiled a bit. She sat down next to Natasha. "How's your wrist?"

"Kind of sore, but not anything I can't handle. I've had a lot worse." Natasha shrugged.

"I got some stuff for you-"

"With my credit card." Tony whined

"Shut up Stark." Natasha snapped, before turning back to the CEO.

"Anyways, so I got you some stuff to make you feel better until you're well enough to go back on missions. There's painkillers, your favorite chips, a six pack of that beer you like and some noise cancelling headphones to help you relax."

"This is awesome Pepp." Natasha smiled brightly. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it. I'd better get started on lunch. JARVIS?"

"_Yes Miss Potts?" _The AI replied

"Can you alert the rest of the team to go to Tony and I's floor for lunch?"

"_Yes Miss Potts." _

"Thanks. Tony, Bruce I'm gonna need your help with the bags again." Pepper said, grabbing a few bags. The men moaned.

"Can't Red help too?" Tony whined, picking up some of the bags. "She's got a free hand."

"Not a chance Stark." Natasha laughed.

She had managed to avoid Steve all day, until she realized it had before far too easy to avoid him. Knowing Steve, he'd come looking for her eventually and try to apologize for something that really wasn't his fault.

It finally dawned on Natasha just after lunch, when Steve didn't come down to eat. He was avoiding _her_.

* * *

Natasha was sitting on the roof, dangling her feet over the edge. She was almost finished with the book Steve recommended. She didn't like it at first, but it sort of grew on her.

"There you are." Natasha turned around to see Clint walking towards her. He stopped in place when he saw the cast. "What happened?"

"I dropped a weight on it in the gym." Natasha felt like a parrot, constantly repeating 'how' she fractured her wrist.

"That doesn't sound like you." He sat down beside her.

"It was an accident."

"Obviously." Clint elbowed her lightly. He took the book from her. "Good book?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Steve recommended it."

"Did he now?" Clint flashed her a knowing smile.

"What are you on about Barton?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing… You just seem to be pretty close to our captain. Despite what happened…"

'_Oh god. He knows_.' Natasha though, panicking.

"It was an accident." She said seriously.

"What?!" Clint stared at her in astonishment. "What was an accident?"

"You just said-"

"I was going to say despite how the mission went down in Saint Petersburg. I know all about you're little realtion-" He glanced down at her cast. His face contorted into anger. "Wait. _Rogers _did this to you?"

"Clint-" Before she could stop him the archer stood up marching towards the door. Using her non-broken hand Natasha carefully stood up, following behind him. "Barton wait!"

* * *

**What's Clint gonna do to Steve?**

**Next chapter'll be up soon!**

* * *

**Please leave me reviews! I LOVE to know what you guys think :)**


End file.
